Supernatural Season 12 Promo: Still Hunting Things & Saving People

For over a decade, Supernatural‘s badass brothers Sam and Dean Winchester have been saving the world from evil and ending the lives of just about every type of monster known to man. With stars Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles recently expressing a desire to produce at least 300 episodes before their beloved Impala takes its last ride into the sunset, it appears that the veteran series won’t be drawing to a close for at least a couple more seasons. Still, it seems like a bit of a difficult task to top the threats present in season 11, with God’s sister Amara (aka The Darkness) spending much of the last 23 episodes planning to literally end human civilization.

Thankfully, Supernatural’s producing and writing staff seems to have realized that, and have previously promised that this fall’s season 12 will go “back to basics.” To that end, season 12’s new primary threat appears to be the UK branch of the Men of Letters, a secret society that Sam and Dean eventually discovered their grandfather had been a member of decades prior, essentially making them members by bloodline. Season 11 ended with Sam being abducted by a representative of the aforementioned branch, with plans to hold him accountable for all the damage the Winchesters have (inadvertently) done in the last several years. This is a big change from the biblical baddies that have dominated recent seasons.

With Supernatural’s fall premiere drawing close, The CW has seen fit to release the first teaser promo for season 12, which includes the first footage of ’80s rocker and actor Rick Springfield as Lucifer’s new vessel. Sam and Dean’s recently resurrected mother Mary also makes an appearance, and seems to be joining Dean’s efforts to retrieve Sam from his kidnappers. In a way, this almost bring the series full circle, as Mary’s murder at the hands of a demon when Sam was just a baby is what led to monster hunting becoming the Winchesters’ “family business.”

While Lucifer has in the past normally been played by actor Mark Pellegrino (Lost) – at least prior to his stint sharing Castiel’s vessel during season 11 – that body is now long since used up, requiring the prince of darkness to find a new vessel to inhabit. Enter Springfield as aging rock star Vince Vincente, who volunteers to be ol’ scratch’s new home. In the above promo, Springfield’s Lucifer is seen confronting constant foil Crowley, which can’t mean good things for the former king of Hell.

Intriguiningly, while Sam being seen in bondage makes sense due to his status as a kidnap victim, Dean is also seen chained up near the end, making one wonder if the Brits manage to capture him too at some point. One thing’s for sure though: after multiple seasons of apocalyptic threats, it’ll be interesting to see what Supernatural’s writers can do with a more grounded overarching scenario to anchor things in between the boys encountering vampire nests or werewolf colonies.